Hashim Ali: An Award-Winning Visual Storyteller

For 32-year-old Art Director, Hashim Ali, no idea is impossible to execute. In fact, the bigger and more out of the box, the better.

“There’s no box!” Ali laughs, while sitting at a relatively quiet coffee shop in Gulberg, Lahore. Dressed in a deep blue, cotton tunic and pants, Ali’s eyes light up when he talks about art, books and most importantly, spirituality.

Having worked for some of the biggest names in Pakistan from fashion to film and music, Ali has a penchant for creating sets which are not only visually stunning, but also intricate – his eye for detail is evident right down to the very last pin.

“We create the box, it simply doesn’t exist. What exists is you and the inspiration you have. You have to see the full range of possibilities when attempting to create something. And then of course, you’ll have to wait and watch to see what transpires.”

Starting out his career in 2010, Ali today stands as the go-to person for executing story-book like sets and fantastical backdrops. In fact, he was the creative brains – as Production Designer and Art Director – behind the viral Coke Studio music video, Pasoori, released earlier this year.

Attributing his foray into the arts by his teachers in Rome, Italy, where his father was posted when Ali was just 13-years-old, the artist reveals that if it wasn’t for his years in Rome, his life would’ve been completely different.

“My teachers couldn’t fathom why I was pursuing science when I had a strong inclination towards the arts,” he says, “I remember my Italian art teacher saying once; ‘Hashim, these subjects are what your parents have chosen for you, but what are you choosing for yourself?’ It was then that she encouraged me to apply to the National College of Arts (NCA), in Lahore when I moved back.”

Even though his family wanted him to be a doctor, Ali fought to go to NCA after a “very tough battle.” But it was a decision he knew he deeply needed to make.

Once at college, he felt like a “kid in a candy store.” From studying science to the limitless possibilities of art mediums that lay before him, Ali reminisces that he was in his element at NCA. So much so that he couldn’t help but approach even the smallest class assignment with incredible excitement and gratitude.

“I was always that student who was so extra,” Ali chuckles, “My class fellows hated me for it! For instance, once we had to make a board game for a history assignment (which focused on the Silk Route). It was for ten marks. While everyone else made board games on chart paper, I hand-stitched an entire quilt in less than 24 hours because I thought, why would a person traveling through the Silk Route carry a board game? It’s stupid! They’d carry a quilt! And they’d use pillows as dice! People in class thought I was crazy. Even the teacher was like, this was not needed!”

With a love for collecting puppets (a hobby he has had since he was a child), to reading, Ali has a fascinating personality which not only has elements of child-like innocence, but also a pragmatic aspect which is deeply rooted in self-awareness. And just like his love for storytelling through his work, Ali finds meaning by being mindful of experiences, dreams and coincidences that he weaves together to create a sense of inner understanding and his role in the grander scheme of things.

For instance, there are books that have acted as messengers for Ali, strange synchronicities and full circle moments in his career that have both anchored and given him patience.

“No matter what happens in my life I always tell myself that there must be a reason behind it. God’s always watching and I think in a way, that idea has made me survive both my personal life and the industry I work in…the notion that everything will happen the way it should,” he says.

“When I approach projects I see it as a team effort, as a ‘we’ rather than an ‘I.’ Over the years I’ve had people backstab me in the industry but I don’t say anything because that’s their journey, and this is mine. Where my journey starts and where it ends, I don’t know. It’s in God’s hands.”

Currently in the midst of a few projects that Ali remains secretive about with a glint in his eyes, the artist, while exceedingly methodical in his approach towards his projects, prefers to remain “spontaneous” about the end product. It excites him.

“I personally feel all artists are storytellers. The medium might be different, but it’s always a story. I like being fluid and intuitive in my work. It’s a learning process after all.”